'Top Chef' Stephanie Izard's The Little Goat Gets an Opening Date

We’re on the ground in Chicago for this weekend’s Bon Appétit Presents
Chicago Gourmet food festival (we’ll be bringing you coverage all weekend), which means it’s time to eat our way through the Windy City. First up: lunch at the excellent
GT Fish & Oyster. In between bites of Belon oysters and charred octopus, we ran into
Boka Restaurant Group head honcho
Rob Katz (pictured above). Along with Kevin Boehm, Katz owns eight high-profile restaurants in Chi-town including Boka, Balena, and chef Stephanie Izard’s white hot Girl & The Goat.

Our first question: Where did Katz get that awesome Lone Star beer hat? Then we moved on to more serious matters, like when
Little Goat–Boka and Izard’s much-delayed diner concept–will open. Originally slated for last Spring,
Katz tells us they’ve finally decided on an opening date: November 15. “A lot of the blogs are saying late October. I don’t know where they’re getting that from–not from us,” says Katz.

We also asked Katz about that “chicken concept” that Izard and Boka are rumored to be cooking up. Katz confirmed that it’s definitely happening, but couldn’t offer many more details beyond the fact that it would be a casual project. Between this and Jean-George’s Simply Chicken, are we in store for a golden era of chicken-centric fast-casual projects?